A year-long study found including Medicare allowable fees in EHRs does not impact clinicians' ordering patterns of inpatient laboratory tests, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
In the study, researchers analyzed 98,529 patients at three U.S. hospitals. Researchers assigned patients into the Medicare allowable fee group (intervention) and the control group.
Here are four takeaways:
1. The intervention and control group had similar pre-intervention order rate trends.
2. Researchers did not note significant changes in overall testing behavior.
3. The intervention group did have a "small but significant" increase in the number of adjusted analysis tests performed over time, compared to the control group.
4. The researchers concluded including the Medicare allowable fees in the EHR for impatient laboratory tests did not result in a substantial change in clinician ordering behavior.